Page:Psychology and preaching.djvu/300

 282 PSYCHOLOGY AND PREACHING

reinstatement of the simple undifferentiated type of society. But this is far from the fact. If the lines between classes have become wavering and indistinct, the specializa tion of occupations has been going on at the same time on a quite remarkable scale; and the occupational differentia tion produces a great variety of social types. Those en gaged in the same occupation develop a certain similarity of mental organization, which becomes in some cases very pronounced. They have their common interests, and in the more important occupations they have more frequent con tacts with one another, or at any rate their relations with one another are likely to be more sympathetic, full and free, offering a more open path for the spread of common ideas and emotions. On the other hand, however, the important fact must be noted that occupations have been thoroughly in dividualized ; almost every trace of hereditary occupations has vanished. The father follows one trade or profession and the son a different one, or the several sons several dif ferent ones. And thus within the same family more than one occupational type is very often found. Moreover, in the modern world the great diversification of interests has mul tiplied and varied the relations of men to one another be yond all parallel. It is obvious, therefore, that a great and increasing number of social ties run across the occupational lines, as well as across the crevices of class distinctions. While the social cleavages have been greatly multiplied in number there is vastly more criss-crossing of social relation ship. As the differentiation of specialized groups goes on within society, the threads which knit them together also multiply. If I may use so crude a figure, the social garment has many more seams but the seams are much more closely stitched.

The density of the population must also be taken into con sideration. It is greater than ever and is constantly in creasing. Thus social contacts are much more numerous than ever both within and across group-lines, though it must

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